When actor Shah Rukh Khan made his Bollywood debut in Deewana (1992), purists hated him but others took note of this young lad from Delhi. He was bristling with energy; he could hardly be dubbed handsome but he loved and wooed his lady love onscreen like there was no tomorrow. On the flip side, he was majorly melodramatic; subtlety and Shah Rukh never going hand-in-hand.
Those who disapproved of him then, dislike him till today but millions embraced him with open arms and have stayed loyal to this day, a fact that he acknowledged in his recent interview with David Letterman. The actor said that early in his career he realised that he had limited skills and the best he could do is stay in peoples’ hearts. With Shah Rukh, there was no time for a struggle, he arrived with a bang and has stayed that way for more than 27 years. On his 54th birthday, here’s looking at his career’s trajectory and how he became one of the most successful actors (and the wealthiest) in the world.
The first time the world noticed Shah Rukh was when he starred as Abhimanyu Rai in late Col Raj Kapoor directed Doordarshan serial, Fauji. His boyish charm, unconventional looks, pleasing yet oddly demanding personality meant that he walked straight into the hearts of people, mostly women. He followed it up with few other TV serials such as Circus (1989-90) and Idiot (1991). Then, he moved to Mumbai for good.
Shah Rukh’s career can be slotted into four categories — anti hero, romantic hero, comedies and phases of experimention. With films like Darr (1993), Baazigar (1993) and Anjaam (1994), he brought a new dimension to your typical romantic hero. His character Rahul in Darr can easily pass off for a stalker in today’s world. In Baazigar, his character Ajay has no qualms killing Shilpa Shetty’s Seema, whom he pretends to love. These roles would immediately set Shah Rukh apart from the rest of the leading actors of the day, there was an actor who was open to play morally ambivalent roles and yet win the support of the audience.
{{/usCountry}}Shah Rukh’s career can be slotted into four categories — anti hero, romantic hero, comedies and phases of experimention. With films like Darr (1993), Baazigar (1993) and Anjaam (1994), he brought a new dimension to your typical romantic hero. His character Rahul in Darr can easily pass off for a stalker in today’s world. In Baazigar, his character Ajay has no qualms killing Shilpa Shetty’s Seema, whom he pretends to love. These roles would immediately set Shah Rukh apart from the rest of the leading actors of the day, there was an actor who was open to play morally ambivalent roles and yet win the support of the audience.
{{/usCountry}}His next phase — romantic one — is perhaps one that had defined his destiny the best. With Aditya Chopra’s directorial Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenga (DDLJ) that came out in 1995, Shah Rukh’s image was to change forever. He was to become the king of romance. As of 2018, the iconic film has completed 23 years of a continuous run at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir. Shah Rukh had even tweeted about it.
In films like Dil Toh Paagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabbatein (2000) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), he would go on to display every aspect of a romantic relationship.
Since the start of his Bollywood career, Shah Rukh has been accused of hamming. Much of that changed when in 2004, Shah Rukh starred in Ashutosh Gowariker’s much-acclaimed Swades. Telling the story of a NASA scientist who decides to return home to his village and use his knowledge for the betterment of his people, Shah Rukh was a picture of restraint. The film didn’t work at the box office but silenced his critics. Shah Rukh did a fine job. In 2007, he delivered yet another restrained performance in Chak De! India as a disgraced hockey player turned coach of a woman’s team, who must salvage his reputation by making champions out of a bunch of players, lacking in team spirit, aspiration and motivation. In 2010’s My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh put up yet another fine performance as a man with Asperger’s syndrome, who must reclaim his place in society and in the heart of his ladylove. The film is set against the backdrop of 9/11 twin tower attacks that shook the world.
Around this time too he, along with his wife Gauri Khan, formed his own production company, Red Chillies Entertainment in 2000. While their first production, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, didn’t work wonders at the ticket windows, his later successes - Main Hoon Na (2004), Om Shanti Om (2007), Don 2 (2011, co-produced with Excel Entertainment), Student of the Year (2012, co-produced with Dharma Productions) and Chennai Express (2013, co-produced with UTV Motion Pictures), Happy New Year (2014) and Dilwale (2015, co-produced with Rohit Shetty Productions), his production house would emerge as one of the pre-eminent film companies of India.
The actor has continued to experiment with roles - in his Fan (2016), he put in a sincere performance as a star and his biggest fan. Sadly the audiences didn’t find it convincing. In 2018, he chose another unconventional role and played a dwarf in Zero. Appreciated for his performance, the film, however, proved to be one of the biggest disasters in his career. His recent films - Raees and Dear Zindagi - were successful but Shah Rukh’s hold over the box office has been a declining curve. Emergence of a host of younger stars such as Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal and a clear shift from star-oriented films, has meant that Shah Rukh’s stocks have taken a beating.
Despite, these serious challenges, it would be wrong to write off Shah Rukh. The longevity of a star-actor is known from his or her ability to reinvent the wheel. If Amitabh Bachchan could do it with Kaun Banega Crorepati, there’s no reason why Shah Rukh can’t. It is only a matter of time.
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